


are you gone?

by sarahyyy



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-23 23:26:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4896334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahyyy/pseuds/sarahyyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I-” Grantaire starts, and looks away from Floréal. His voice is tinged with desperation when he speaks next. “Can’t he stay just for awhile? He’s injured and <i>weak</i> and-”</p><p>“You <i>know</i> him,” Floréal interrupts, and when Grantaire chances a peek at her, her eyes are wide with betrayal. “You didn’t happen to find him, <i>you know him</i>.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	are you gone?

“He can’t stay,” Floréal tells him, the second they have a moment to themselves. “You know he can’t stay.”

Grantaire takes a breath, lets it out slowly, and says, “I know.”

“Do you?” She arches an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Have you told him that he needs to leave?”

“I-” Grantaire starts, and looks away from Floréal. His voice is tinged with desperation when he speaks next. “Can’t he stay just for awhile? He’s injured and _weak_ and-”

“You _know_ him,” Floréal interrupts, and when Grantaire chances a peek at her, her eyes are wide with betrayal. “You didn’t happen to find him, _you know him_.”

Grantaire flinches at the anger in Floréal’s voice, but doesn’t shy away from the accusation. If there’s even the slightest bit of chance that it may help Floréal change her mind about Enjolras staying, he can withstand her wrath. 

“His injury-”

“He’s not infectious,” Grantaire tells her quickly. “It’s not from one of the Infected.” He swallows, and decides to go with the truth. “I was there with him when Patron-Minette came on a supplies raid. He was injured by one of them, I saw him get hurt. He’s not turning, I promise. I wouldn’t have brought him back otherwise, you know I wouldn’t have.”

Floréal looks at him, and in that moment, she looks infinitely disappointed — a look that he hasn’t seen on her face in a really long time. 

“All those times you went out to gather supplies on your own,” she says. “Were you with him?”

Grantaire nods. “I met him a few weeks ago. He’s alone, and he’s friendly. He just wants to make his way across the line too.”

Floréal’s eyes are wet. “You’ve been meeting up with him behind my back for all this time?” 

“I’m sorry,” he says, because it needs to be said, she needs to know that he is. He wouldn’t have done anything else, wouldn’t have let Enjolras bleed out alone, but he is sorry that he hasn’t been honest with her. “Let him stay. Just until he gets better,” he pleads. 

“No,” Floréal says, still unmoving in her decision. “He’ll slow us down, and we can’t afford to be slow, especially if Patron-Minette is in the area too.” 

“We can’t just leave him!” Grantaire cries. 

Floréal shakes her head and looks away from Grantaire, drops down onto her knees and starts shoving supplies —food, water, knives— into her backpack. “You can’t.” 

Grantaire draws in a sharp breath. “Floréal, don’t, _please_ ,” he says. 

“Stay with him, if you want,” she says, voice hard. “I’m leaving.” 

“You can’t just-” He grabs her by the arm. “Flo, we’ve always stuck together, you can’t- Don’t leave me, please.”

She snorts, wipes at the tears that have escaped. “Would you leave with me if I asked?” 

Grantaire looks away. “I can’t leave him, Flo,” he says quietly. 

“I know,” she says. “I-”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence, because Enjolras comes limping back. 

“I heard a commotion,” he says. “Is everything alright?”

Floréal smiles at him. “Everything is fine,” she says, the cheer in her voice obviously fake. She hoists up her backpack. “I was just leaving.” 

“Flo-”

She doesn’t turn back to face him. “Be careful, stay safe.” 

Grantaire should go after her; he doesn’t. He turns to Enjolras instead.

“Is she leaving because of me?” Enjolras asks, lips pinched in a frown. 

Grantaire doesn’t answer, doesn’t have the words to. He says, instead, “You’re still bleeding.”

Enjolras looks down at himself, and then shakes his head. “It’s mostly stopped now. I’ll be fine,” he tells Grantaire. “You should go after her.”

Grantaire shakes his head. “Take your shirt off, I’ll clean your wound for you.”

“ _Grantaire_ ,” Enjolras says softly, too gentle and too cautious for Grantaire to pretend that he’s anywhere near okay, so he gives up on the pretence and slides down against the wall and gives into his tears.

Enjolras is by his side as quickly as his injuries will allow him to move, and Grantaire leans into his embrace, mindful of Enjolras’ wounds, and lets Enjolras rub his back through his sobs. 

“You should go after her,” Enjolras says again, when Grantaire regains control of himself. “She’s important to you.”

“I know,” he says. And he wants to, except he knows that she can take care of herself, that she’s always been a lot better at surviving than he is, but Enjolras can’t right now. “I don’t want to leave you, though,” he tells Enjolras. 

Enjolras smiles. “I’ll be fine alone,” he tells Grantaire. “I’ve been fine alone for a long time now.”

“Never this badly hurt,” Grantaire counters.

“It’s not so bad,” Enjolras insists. “I’ve had worse.”

“You’re _limping_ ,” Grantaire argues. “If the Infected come for you, how many do you think you’ll be able to fight off before they get to you?”

Enjolras sighs at that, and doesn’t reply. 

It’s a victory, but it doesn’t feel like one. And maybe he should’ve expected that it would end like this, because Floréal has always been slow to trust — it’s what’s kept them alive so far, and he should’ve known that bringing Enjolras back like this was never going to go well with Floréal. But he couldn’t have just left Enjolras there, in the middle of the woods where he’d chosen to make camp not knowing that Patron-Minette was nearby, bleeding and unguarded, and he’d done the only thing he could think of. 

He shakes his thoughts off, and turns to Enjolras. “We should really clean your wound,” he tells Enjolras, and Enjolras doesn’t try to fight him this time, just peels his t-shirt off, wincing a little at the pain. 

“Does it hurt?” Grantaire says, and makes a face, because of course it does. The bruises and wounds on Enjolras look painful. “I’m fairly certain that I still have painkillers somewhere.”

“No,” Enjolras says sharply. “They’ll make me groggy, and I want to be able to defend myself if anything should happen. I can take the pain, it’s okay.”

Grantaire looks at him. “It’s okay to take them,” he tells Enjolras. “I’ll be here.”

Enjolras shakes his head. “I know, but I’ll be of more use with my wits about. At the very least, I’ll be less of a burden.”

Grantaire sighs, and lets Enjolras have his way. 

“You should go after her,” Enjolras says, for the third time this time. “You shouldn’t be helping me at the expense of your friendship with Floréal. You barely even know me. You don’t have to feel obliged to stay with me.”

“I know,” Grantaire says. He looks away from Enjolras, because he has to say this, has to let Enjolras know, and he doesn’t think he can look at Enjolras when he does. “I can’t seem to be able to make myself leave, though.”

Enjolras is silent for a long moment. And then, “ _Oh_. Oh, Grantaire. Do you-?”

Grantaire nods, still not looking at Enjolras in favour of cleaning Enjolras’ wound. His hands are shaking a little, he tries his hardest to still them, and isn’t successful.

Enjolras stops him, covering one of Grantaire’s hand with his own. “Grantaire,” he says softly. He catches Grantaire’s chin in his other hand, tips Grantaire’s face up. “ _Grantaire_ ,” he says again, and there is something in his voice, something too tender and too fond, that makes Grantaire’s breath catch. 

He shouldn’t be surprised when Enjolras kisses him, because Enjolras leans in slowly, and Grantaire can see it coming, but he still startles at the first press of Enjolras’ lips to his, letting out a tiny noise. The sound makes Enjolras pull away, but Grantaire chases after his lips, kisses him and kisses him until they’re both out of breath. 

“You too?” Grantaire asks softly when they part.

Enjolras’ lips brush over Grantaire’s brow. Grantaire can feel Enjolras’ lips tip up in a smile against his skin, and has to suppress his own smile at that. 

“Since the first time we met,” Enjolras admits, and when Grantaire lets out a noise of surprise, Enjolras kisses him. Enjolras is smiling when they part. “I’ll take the first watch. You should rest.”

Grantaire shakes his head. “You need sleep more than I do.”

“I’m still good for another few hours, and frankly, if we’re going to make it to the next town in my condition, you’re going to have to help out a lot tomorrow.” He presses their foreheads together. “Please rest?” 

Grantaire nods, and does as Enjolras says. He falls asleep to Enjolras’ fingers sifting through his hair.

—

When he wakes up, Enjolras is gone, and in his place is Floréal. For a moment, he thinks that she’s changed her mind, that she’ll let Enjolras stay with them, but a cursory glance around the room tells him that Enjolras has left — his backpack, his red parka, the daggers that Enjolras favours, they’re all gone.

“He’s gone,” Floréal tells him, and when he turns his gaze upon her, questioning, she glares at him. “I didn’t chase him away, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was nearby,” she confesses. “I couldn’t leave you alone. But I saw tracks leading to the woods on my patrol, and I had to check if you were alright. He was gone when I arrived.”

Grantaire swallows, remembers the feeling of Enjolras’ lips on his, and blinks back tears. “He wanted me to go after you,” he says. “He knew I wanted to, and he knew I wouldn’t leave him, so he left me.”

Floréal is silent for a moment. And then, quietly, “He can’t be moving too fast, and he isn’t in the condition to worry about covering his tracks unless it’s absolutely necessary. If we leave now, and move fast, we can probably catch up.”

Grantaire looks up at her, surprised. “You mean-?”

Floréal smiles. “You’re going to go after him no matter what I say, don’t even pretend you’re not already thinking about it,” she says, and the annoyance in her voice is mostly exaggerated, so Grantaire allows himself to flash her a tiny smile. “Besides, he might not be that bad. He did manage to sneak out of here without waking you up, even incapacitated. He’ll probably be helpful, when he’s better.”

“He will be,” Grantaire assures her. “He’s-”

“Wonderful,” Floréal finishes wryly. “Yes, I got that from listening to you talk in your sleep.” Grantaire flushes at that, and she laughs, standing up. She offers her hand to Grantaire to help him up too. Grantaire tugs her into a tight hug the moment he’s standing, and doesn’t let go, even when she says, “We should get going. He’s probably only got an hour or so on us. If we keep it at a fast walk, we should catch up very soon.”

“I love you, Flo,” he tells her. “I really, really do.”

She snorts, turns to pick her backpack up, and makes her way to the door. “Well, then you better hope your lover boy doesn’t get jealous easily, because I’m used to being your favourite person, and I refuse to let that change,” Floréal tells him.

“Never. You’re always going to be my favourite person,” Grantaire says cheerily, picking up his own backpack, and catching up to her. 

For the first time since this whole apocalypse happened, Grantaire thinks that maybe, just maybe, his story isn’t doomed to have an unhappy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [here on Tumblr](http://sarah-yyy.tumblr.com/), come say hi!
> 
>  
> 
> (+ bonus Sads)  
> Imagine they manage to catch up to Enjolras, but they aren't in time to save him. Ooh, maybe Grantaire gets there just in time to see Enjolras bleed out, and they get to have tearful goodbyes. OR, Enjolras gets bitten by an Infected, and wants Grantaire to finish him before he turns. OKAY I AM DONE SORRY.


End file.
